NBA Star Michael Porter Jr. Admits to This Vice

Michael Porter Jr. used his Curious Mike podcast to address something that isn’t on a box score.

The Brooklyn Nets forward, who averaged 18.2 points and 7.0 rebounds last season, said he’s been dealing with a recurring personal temptation while feeling less connected to his faith in the previous few years.

“Everybody has different vices,” Porter Jr. said on the episode, explaining that his has “always come in the form of women.”

He added that when he’s “far from God” and not praying or reading scripture, “that seems to be the place that the devil gets me.” Porter Jr. said the struggle has coincided with “the last two to three years,” a period when he felt his relationship with God was “astray.”

The NBA champion said his family situation gives him perspective. “I got two younger brothers that are married. I got two older sisters that are married. I’m the only one that’s not married,” he said, adding that he believes “God kind of gives you what you’re prepared to handle,” and he doesn’t think he’s ready for “a good woman” yet because he’s “all over the place.”

Porter Jr., 27, was raised in a Christian household and often speaks about his faith. He referenced recent turbulence around his brothers: Coban Porter was sentenced to six years in prison in a fatal DUI case, and Jontay Porter pleaded guilty to wire fraud related to a gambling scandal and awaits sentencing.

“My brother Jontay, he didn’t struggle with that vice. I didn’t struggle with gambling addiction,” Michael said.

He added that he believes he was “entrusted with wealth” because he could handle it and “not lose” himself, while Jontay “struggled with that area of the idolization of money.” He also said, “I have not been blessed with a wife because maybe I am not prepared to handle that because of my struggles.”

Porter Jr. said he traveled to Costa Rica to reconnect with his faith, describing the trip as part of a reset as he begins his next chapter in Brooklyn.